It looks more and more like the Carolinas are going to be effected by Hurricane Irma in one way or another. That means events planned for this upcoming weekend might be cancelled. We always give contact info when we present any articles about such events. It is advised that you use that contact info before you plan to attend any events this weekend. And, lets hope that somehow the forecasters are wrong and this killer storm goes out to sea instead of hitting any part of the USA. Be safe out there.

This month’s cover art features a painting by Veronika Hart of Hendersonville, NC. She will be taking part in the sixth annual Open Studio Tour of Henderson County on Sept. 23-24, 2017. She also has some work a The Gallery at Flat Rock in Flat Rock, NC. You can read some about her in this month’s Commentary and the Tour on Page 34.

So download that PDF and dig in – it makes for good reading and shows that you have lots of opportunities to enjoy the visual arts in the Carolinas. And, don’t forget to find a way to thank our advertisers – they make this publication possible.

And help us spread this issue around by sending this link to your friends.

If you want to get something in the October 2017 issue about an exhibit – send it now or as soon as you can. Don’t wait till the September 24th deadline.

The prestigious Fulbright España Senior Research Fellowship had been awarded to Dawn Hunter, an associate professor in the School of Visual Art and Design at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.

The award is in support of her new series of drawings and paintings titled Aesthetic Instincts: the Intersection of Art and Science in the life of Santiago Ramón y Cajal. This new body of artwork is an immersive, comprehensive biographical project that, through visual art, examines and represents the life of Santiago Ramón y Cajal (May 1, 1852 – October 17, 1934). Ramón y Cajal was a Spanish scientist and the first person to demonstrate that the nervous system was made up of individual units (neurons) that were independent of one another but linked together at points of functional contact called synapses. Ramón y Cajal illustrated the results of his studies with elegant drawings of neurons that he proposed work independently or collectively, and that each individual unit can participate simultaneously in individual or multiple neuron functions. Ramón y Cajal was a 1906 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine that was awarded jointly to another neuroscientist, Camillo Golgi “in recognition of their work on the structure of the nervous system,” however, their research was mutually exclusive and embraced opposing theses. Santiago Ramón y Cajal is considered by many to be the father of modern neuroscience.

Hunter said: “It is an honor to receive such a tremendous life-changing opportunity. I am immensely thankful to everyone at my University, the NIH and the Instituto Cajal who have helped me in the development and realization of this project. I am particularly grateful the Dr. Jim Augustine for believing in the vision of my idea and encouraging me to invest in this creative endeavor. Cajal was such a fascinating and inspiring individual. I look forward to deepening my understanding of him and his work through this upcoming sojourn in Spain.”

While in Spain, Hunter will continue the development of her creative project by researching the archives of the Cajal Legacy of the Cajal Institute or Instituto Cajal. The Cajal Legacy contains many items bequeathed to the Instituto Cajal, which includes some research items like microscopes, manuscripts, medals, as well as Cajal’s scientific drawings and photographs. The Instituto Cajal is the oldest neurobiology research center in Spain which belongs to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The Cajal Institute originates from the Laboratorio de Investigaciones Biológicas, founded in 1900 by order of King Alfonso XIII in honor of the Moscow Prize awarded to Santiago Ramón y Cajal.

Dr. Juan De Carlos, the curator of the Cajal Legacy, invited Hunter to apply for a Fulbright at the Instituto Cajal after meeting her and seeing her speak at a professional meeting hosted by the National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD. NINDS Senior Investigator, Jeff Diamond, invited Hunter to deliver a presentation at the first international symposium honoring Cajal, October 2015 held at the NIH. Hunter also participated in the second international conference, May 2017 held at the Instituto Cajal, Madrid, Spain.

Dawn Hunter with Cajal Inventory exhibition, May 2017, Instituto Cajal, Madrid Spain – exhibition was held as part of the 2nd Collaborative International Symposium honor Cajal coordinated by the National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD and the Instituto Cajal, Madrid, Spain.

Fulbright Scholar awards are made possible through funds appropriated annually by the US Congress, contributions from partner countries and the private sector. The Fulbright program aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other nations.

Dawn Hunter pursued her undergraduate studies at the Kansas City Art Institute (BFA), Parsons School of Design, and the Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art & Music. As a Regents Fellow, she received her MFA from the University of California, Davis. She has participated in numerous solo and multiple artist exhibitions throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia. Additionally, she has also received many awards and grants for her artwork, most notably, a Starr Foundation Fellowship, enabling her to be the first American woman to serve as Artist-in-Residence at the Royal Academy of Art, London. A selection of seven artworks from her series, Aesthetic Instincts: the Intersection of Art and Science in the life of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, are currently on display alongside several original scientific drawings completed by Cajal at the John Porter Neuroscience Research Center at the National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD. NINDS Senior Investigator, Jeff Diamond curated the exhibition.

The Arts Council of York County is hosting a bus trip from the Center for the Arts, 121 E. Main St., Rock Hill, SC, to the Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, NC, to see the exhibit, “Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern”, on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. The bus will depart from the Center for the Arts at 9am, and will return at 5pm.

From the Reynolda House Museum of American Art: “The Reynolda House Museum of American Art marks its centennial as an estate and its fiftieth anniversary as a museum with an exhibition of the work of Georgia O’Keeffe. “Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern” explores how the artist’s modern sensibility saturated her art, her life, her homes, and her carefully fashioned public (and private) personas. In addition to a number of carefully chosen paintings by O’Keeffe, and photographs of her homes, the exhibition features selected items from her personal wardrobe that highlight her preferences for compact masses, organic silhouettes, and minimal ornamentation. The Reynolda House is one of only three venues to host the exhibition, and the only venue south of New York.”

Tickets are $75 for members of the Arts Council, and $85 for the general public. They include transportation, and admission to the museum and the O’Keeffe exhibit. Tickets for the trip must be purchased in advance by 5pm on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 – online at (www.yorkcountyarts.org), by phone at 803/328-2787, and in person at the Center for the Arts, 121 E. Main St., Rock Hill, SC. There will be time to shop and eat in Reynolda Village prior to the museum visit.

The Arts Council is headquartered in downtown Rock Hill, a state-recognized cultural district. For more information on Arts Council events, contact the Arts Council of York County at 803/328-2787, by e-mail at (arts@yorkcountyarts.org), or visit our webpage at (www.yorkcountyarts.org).

Patenaude will lead the glassblowing demonstration. She and the STARworks Glass team will work together to create a glass raccoon.

STARworks Glass guest artist Amanda Patenaude attaches an ear to the glass raccoon she made for the February 2016 Hot Glass Cold Beer. She will create another raccoon with the assistance of the STARworks Glass team at this Hot Glass Cold Beer.

The River Wild food truck, based out of Lake Tillery, will be on site with offerings of fish tacos, burgers, fries and more.

HGCB, held on the second Thursday of every month, features beer from Four Saints Brewing Company, based in Asheboro and wine from Stony Mountain Vineyards, based in Albemarle.

All ages are invited to watch the free glassblowing demonstration. Visitors, ages 21 and older who purchase a hand-crafted STARworks drinking glass will receive a ticket for a complimentary beer or wine during the demonstration. Beer and wine may also be purchased directly at the bar.

Patenaude is a multi-media artist based out of Brooklyn, NY, where she works as a glass production manager and devotes time to her personal art practice. She uses glass and its properties to investigate issues of waste and reuse, new forms of community building and our evolving roles in the environment. Patenaude received a BFA from Illinois State University where she worked in both the glass and ceramic departments.

STARworks is a Central Park NC project. Central Park NC is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the economy of the region by focusing on the sustainable use of our natural and cultural resources.

STARworks is located at 100 Russell Drive in Star, just off I-73/74 in northern Montgomery County. For more information, call 910/428-9001, or visit (www.StarworksNC.org).

In perfect summer weather, over 75 world-class artists, with the backdrop of the Manteo, NC’s waterfront provided the ideal setting for the “36th Annual New World Festival of the Arts” on Aug. 16 and 17, 2017.

Best in Show Award Recipient Jennifer Rose Hyde. Photo courtesy of Tatum Clements.

Mixed media artist Lisa Beth Robinson, who is an assistant professor at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, judged the show. She observed watercolor, acrylic, photography, jewelry, ceramics, wood design, leatherwork, and many other media.

“Jurying the show presented me with difficult choices; I saw a great deal of beautiful and finely crafted work,” said Robinson. “My first consideration was, of course, the formal properties of the work: craft, skill, creativity, and concept. Beyond that, I was looking for artists who used their media in ways that exceeded the traditional boundaries of the material with an exceptional level of skill and work that appeared ripe for pushing these boundaries.”

Best In Show winner Jennifer Rose Hyde paints with needles and threads that compose wearable art with vibrant colors and textures. Second place winner Sheila Nash is a watercolor artist who paints on paper with transparent watercolor. Third place winner Gregory Bryant’s unique porcelain jewelry has an ancient, yet modern design. “What a nice surprise it was to get this award,” said artist Gregory Bryant. “This was my third year participating in the show. I continue to be lured by the charm, hospitality, and unique character of Manteo. I really enjoyed my customers- a great mix of locals and vacationers.”

Presented by PNC Bank for the third consecutive year, the New World Festival of the Arts is a Manteo tradition that provides awareness of current trends in the visual arts while acquainting visitors with the historic Town of Manteo.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to help organize this show,” said jewelry artist and DCAC staff member Erin Johnson. “As a graduate of The College of the Albemarle’s fine arts program and a budding artist, this show has been a wonderful learning experience. I enjoyed working with all of the New World Festival artists and seeing their artwork.”

This project was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Dare County Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization dedicated to supporting the arts in Dare County.

For more information about the Dare County Arts Council’s upcoming events, please call 252/473.-5558 or visit (www.DareArts.org).

The Arts Council of York County in Rock Hill, SC, announced the winners of the “28th Annual Juried Competition” at a free, public reception at the Center for the Arts, 121 E. Main St., Rock Hill, SC on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. This exhibition will be on display in the Dalton Gallery at the Center for the Arts through Sept. 10, 2017.

“Field Notes 33” by Joana Wardell

Each year, the “Annual Juried Competition” is open internationally to artists 18 and older. Only original work, created in the last two (2) years, and not previously shown at the Center for the Arts, Dalton Gallery is accepted. All forms of media are eligible, including video.

Margaret Strickland, a Charlotte based photographer, has been making portraits of family, friends, and strangers for over a decade. Born and raised in Valdosta, GA, Strickland was influenced by cultural norms of the Deep South — a foundation that would later surface as an undercurrent in her work. Strickland’s work explores concepts of gender identity and performance, expectations of the self and of society, and the confluence of these ideas in the constructed poses of intimate portraits. Her works have been shown nationally at galleries and institutions, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, and The Mint Museum Uptown, Charlotte, NC.

Strickland selected 33 works out of 114 entries by 47 artists from 18 cities and 4 states to be displayed in the 28th Annual Juried Competition exhibition in the Dalton Gallery at the Center for the Arts. Awards were presented to:

AWARDS:
Gerald and Barbara Schapiro Best of Show went to “Field Notes 33” by Joana Wardell of Charlotte, NC
1st Place was given to “Inanimate Altruism” by Jacob Olsen of Rock Hill, SC
2nd Place went to “Flux Number 10” by Matthew Nielson of Florence, SC
3rd Place went to “Ultimate Lullaby” by Tabitha Ott of Columbia, SC
Honorable Mention was given to “Gold” by Jake Francek of Rock Hill, SC
Honorable Mention was also given to “Pawpaw” by Alexis Howard of Rock Hill, SC

The Arts Council is headquartered in downtown Rock Hill, a state-recognized cultural district. For more information on Arts Council events, contact the Arts Council of York County by calling 803/328-2787, by e-mail at (arts@yorkcountyarts.org), or visit the Arts Council’s webpage at (www.yorkcountyarts.org).

The Arts Council of Henderson County in Hendersonville, NC, has announced the winning artists for its current exhibition, “Bring Us Your Best XIV”. Winners were announced at the opening reception for the exhibition on Friday, Aug. 4, 2017. “Bring Us Your Best XIV” was on display in the Blue Ridge Conference Hall of the TEDC Building on the Blue Ridge Community College campus through Friday, Aug. 18, 2017.

The awards were announced by Arts Council Board Chair, Pat McAfee, and presented by Joan Jackson, who represents the Wax Family Memorial Funds, a sponsor of the awards. The following artists received awards:

First place winners received $250, 2nd place winners received $150, and 3rd place winners received $100.

In addition to the above awards, Joe Criscione, President of the Board of Directors for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville, presented a special award of $250 to Bonnie Joy Bardos for her sculpture entitled “Walela: Spirit Guide.” This “One Planet, One World” award was selected based on how well the artwork is representative of a world community recognizing the inherent worth and dignity of all beings, the oneness and interdependence of all life. The award is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville.

Henderson County photographer, Walter Arnold, and John Patrick McAfee, author, sponsored an “Artist’s Choice” award, which was selected and announced during the opening reception. Artists who have artwork in the exhibit voted for their choice to win the Artist’s Choice award at opening reception. Hamed Mahmoodi won the $300 cash prize for his dry pigment with aquatint painting entitled “The Cellist.”

The People’s Choice Award, based on the votes of all gallery visitors, has yet to be awarded. The winner will receive a $250 gift certificate from The Starving Artist Fine Art Supply & Custom Framing Shop, and will be announced after the last day of the exhibition, August 18th. The public is invited to visit the exhibition and cast their ballots for the People’s Choice Award.

In addition to The Wax Family Memorial Funds, Bring Us Your Best XIV is also sponsored by The Starving Artist Fine Art Supplies and Custom Framing Shop, the Dr. Minor F. Watts Fund at the Community Foundation of Henderson County, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville.

The Arts Council of Henderson County is a community organization that promotes, advocates for, and nurtures the arts in Henderson County and Western North Carolina. Its office is located at 401 N. Main Street, 3rd floor Hendersonville, NC 28792 (entrance on Fourth Avenue West).

The Arts Council is supported in part by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources; several funds administered by the Community Foundation of Henderson County, Henderson County Government, and Henderson County Travel and Tourism.
For more information contact the Arts Council of Henderson County at 828/693-8504 or e-mail to (acofhc@bellsouth.net). Visit our website at (www.acofhc.org).

Mint Hill Arts is very fortunate and honored to host at its September monthly meeting Maria Elena Ferran, one of New York’s early 80’s artists. After studying painting, photography, and design at Sweet Briar College and New York’s School of Visual Arts, she entered the New York art scene. Her abstract paintings continually express themes of the human subconscious, nature, spirituality and world events.

Work by Maria Elena Ferran

The program is free and open to the public. Mark your calendars to attend this special event on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, from 7 to 8:30pm, at Mint Hill Arts at 11205 Lawyers Road in Mint Hill, NC.

Ferran will give a short talk and guided discussion, followed by guided exercises, focusing on human themes, movement, color, and expression. We will then work in mixed media including acrylics, spray paint, paper, and found materials that come together to create a large, collaborative group mural that will be donated to Mint Hill Arts.

The impulse and desire to communicate with each other has been a driving force in society from the very beginning of human history. Inspired by the cave paintings at Lascaux, “Cave Walls: Express, Empower, Transform,” this collaborative program is designed, for artists of all skill levels, to open up the creative mind, remove blocks, and empower and build expressive confidence with art materials while connecting with other participants through intuitive visual messaging. Developing a creative visual dialogue with others will help build both confidence and empathy, and foster an atmosphere of cooperation and community connection.

For further info call Carol A. Clayton at 704/968-4345 or e-mail to (Bizbrokercc@gmail.com).

The Ackland Art Museum announced today that its Museum Store, currently located on East Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill, NC, will relocate to inside the Museum building, opening for business on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. The Store will be open at its current location on Franklin Street through Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017.

“It feels like a homecoming,” said Katie Ziglar, Director of the Ackland Art Museum. “We are very pleased that we can bring the Museum Store to the Museum. It is an amenity people wish for while visiting the Ackland.”

“We have valued being a part of the fabric of Franklin Street since May of 2011, and have felt very supported by the town of Chapel Hill, the Downtown Partnership, and our customers,” said Alice Southwick, store manager. “As we have always been part of the Ackland Art Museum, it does feel right to be setting up shop inside the Museum’s building. We think our customers will be very pleased.”

The new Ackland Museum Store will include more products that tie to art and exhibitions on view in the Ackland’s galleries, a move that reflects popular demand. The Store will continue to sell works of art by local, regional, and international artists.

“We look forward to being able to offer shopping at the Museum Store—which, in turn, financially supports the Ackland’s exhibitions and programs—as an experience that immediately follows visiting our galleries,” said Ziglar.

Once inside the Museum building, the Store’s hours will follow the Museum’s: Wednesday through Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 1 to 5pm. Like the Museum, the Store will be open until 9pm during the Chapel Hill-Carrboro 2nd Friday ArtWalk evenings.

Featuring a year-round calendar of special exhibitions and dynamic public programs, the Ackland Art Museum—located on the historic campus of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—encourages visitors to engage with the artistic past as well as with living artists from around the world. The Ackland’s holdings consist of more than 18,000 works of art, featuring significant collections of European masterworks, twentieth-century and contemporary art, African art, and North Carolina pottery. In addition, the Ackland has North Carolina’s premier collections of Asian art and works on paper (drawings, prints, and photographs). Its global collection of artworks from antiquity to the present makes the Ackland uniquely able to advance the teaching and research missions of the University.

The Ackland Art Museum is located at 101 South Columbia Street, just south of Franklin Street, on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.